Strange what uncertainty will make lovers do
by Lust-Defect
Summary: Sequel to Wicked games we thought we'd never play. After months of having strange nightmares, Leah is gone and the ones who love her are left to deal with her absence and the mystery of why she left in the first place.
1. Chapter 1

So this is finally the sequel to Wicked Games, woohoo. Thanks to everyone for being so patient and I hope you enjoy this first chapter and continue reading :)

* * *

It's a sunny, clear day when Rosalie walks out of the Cullen home and crosses the treaty line alone. Her yellow sundress, which swings along her knees with the slight cool breeze contrasts immensly with the dark frown upon her face. Her golden eyes, darken as she extends her arm and observes the glittering of her skin. Usually she'd be horrified by the sight, by the thought of some human finding her and reacting unpleasantly. But on this day, she finds that she simply does not care. She closes her eyes, feels the breeze play with her hair and sniffs, yearning for her scent, even though she knows she wont find it. It has been three weeks since Leah Clearwater has disappeared from the LaPush and Forks area and she has yet to believe it. She knew that her friend had been suffering from nightmares, that she'd been hiding something about them, but was it so bad that she couldn't tell her? Hadn't they grown close enough for Leah to be honest with her? How could she just leave her friends, her family and leave them all to wonder? But more importantly, how could she do this to Jacob?  
Rosalie remembers how Leah and Jacob's eyes filled with love when they were near each other. Despite the imprint on her niece, Jacob fell in love with Leah and despite her initial protests Leah fell in love with him as well. Her frown deepens at the thought of what sort of trouble her friend has gotten into.

"Whoa...you guys really do sparkle." Seth comments, pulling her out of her daze. Despite her somber mood, she manages to chuckle and offer the boy a half hearted smile. He offers one back, his expression quickly going back to one of despair. She can tell that he made the humourous comment for both of their sakes.

"Hello Seth."

"Hiya."  
A few moments of tense silence pass by. They are both aware of what, or rather who is on Rosalie's mind. She takes an unnessacary breath.

"Has she called?"  
Seth lowers his gaze, his fists clench and unclench.

"No."

"It's been three weeks Ros-

"She'll call. She's an idiot and...and a co-coward for just run-' Rosalie's voice cracks and her throat fills with angry, helpless sobs but her eyes remain dry- 'ning off but she isn't cruel. She knows you're worried. She'll call you Seth, she will." Seth nods noncommitally. He walks closer and closer to her, until their hands brush and pulls her into a hug. Rosalie slowly, but surely hugs him back. She feels his forehead crinckle against her shoulder and he attempts to fight off tears.

"She'll call you too Rose."

"She fucking better," Rosalie whispers. Seth smiles slightly upon her shoulder before giving her waist a small squeeze and pulling away.

"You should go back home Rosalie, I'm sure Emmett's worried about you."

"He's hunting," she tells him plainly, her voice growing almost cold as she forces herself to brush off the longing and concern for her friend.

"Without you?"

"Yes."

"Seth...'she pauses 'how is Jacob?" Seth flinches at the name. The young wolf's shoulder slump and his eyes fall to the ground. His slender fingers form fists, knuckles twitching with the need to hit, to run, to move on from this moment. Rosalie's lip quivers at the sight. He looks so much like Leah in moments of distress.

"He hasn't been back to Billy's since she left. He just goes to her room sometimes during the day then leaves for days at a time. I- I asked where he goes and he pointed at the woods. I don't understand why he stays out there but he refuses to sleep anywhere else."

Rosalie sighs, "Is the idiot at least taking care of himself?"

Seth flinches again, "No...not really. I saw him last four days ago. He was slimmer and had bags under his eyes."

"Did he say anything?"

"No, he came in, stayed in her room for a bit then walked right back out without a word."

"I see. I'm going back home now Seth, be sure to call if anything happens."

"I will, thank you Rosalie," she nods at the young boy, turns around and makes her way back to the place she calls home.

* * *

Leaves flutter down to the firm dirt around him. Red, brown and gold surrond him, fall into his hair and form the outline of his body as he lies on his side, large hands clenched together. Jacob closes his eyes, letting out a mix between a growl and a whimper when the image of Leah sleeping by his side immediately appears. Her lips are parted, the lines of concern lately etched upon her forehead are gone. Her fingers twitch here and there, as if seeking something to hold on to. Jacob yearns to offer his hand, to thread their fingers together and gently wake her up. He wishes to ask her where she is, to beg her to return, to yell at her for leaving at all. Didn't she know that he'd protect her, that she's better off with the ones who love her?

Yet he does not move. If words leave his lips, if his body moves towards hers, she will wake and vanish from sight. Whatever force has given him the ability to see her has also cursed him with the inability to do anything but observe. She is not alone and yet he can not save her from solitude. She shifts in her sleep, eyelids fluttering as she comes closer to awareness. Jacob aches to hold her but keeps himself in check. He wants this illusion to last.

A slight wind ruffles her hair and her eyes suddenly open but they are glazed, unfocused. He is shocked by their color. Her eyes, normally a dark hue, shift back and forth between a molten gold and bright blue. Her lips, once parted in a relaxed state, curl up in a snarl and she growls. Jacob forces himself to keep still. Her hand transforms into a paw, but the fur is a red-ish brown rather than the usual grey. A twig breaks somewhere in the distance and suddenly Leah is up and alert, her eyes open in alarm, her arms tense. She stands slowly, the intensity in her eyes as strong as ever. Twig snap again, along with the crunch of leaves but this time the sound is closer. Leah begins to lunge but something, somehow makes her stop midair.

"Please...please," she whimpers. A humourless chuckle echoes.

"No." The force that was holding her up, drops her and she lands on the ground with a thud. Her body transforms itself into a magnificent grey wolf, with shocking blue eyes. She then goes back to her human form and curls in on herself.

"Baby," she pleads into the air and Jacob can no longer keep himself in check. He gasps, "Leah!"  
Immediately the illusion is over and he awakes into solitude.

* * *

"Excuse me miss? Are you ready to order?" Leah looks up at the soft, polite voice. She blinks a couple of times, regards her surrondings in confusion.

The past few...days, weeks, months? she wonders, have gone in a blur. She doesn't even remember getting here, in this classical small town diner, with its burgundy cushioned seats, wide booths, and pale yellow and red stripped walls. The waitress tugs at the yellow and burgundy ruffles at the bottom of her brown uniform skirt, not in impatience but out of habit. She tilts her head, a frown creasing the middle of her forehead but Leah hasn't noticed. She's busy glaring from the clean plate before her, to the lone pink rose in its clear vase atop the middle of the table, to the trees outside, back down to the plate. She does this a few more times before the waitress calls out to her again.

"Miss?" Leah looks up, gazes into light brown eyes, filled with worry. She opens her mouth to speak, feels dryness on her tongue.

"I- 'she croaks out' I...what?" The young girl bites her lip, brushes a blonde curl behind her ear.

"I asked you if you were ready to order, but you seem...a bit disoriented."

"Uh-" Leah starts coughing and the waitress reaches over to lightly pat her on the back.

"How about I get you a nice glass of water." she says nervously, practically jogging behind the counter where about a half a dozen adults and a few impatient children are drinking coffee, munching on fries and speaking of things that wont matter once the afternoon has faded into night. Leah closes her eyes, runs a hand through her hair, surprised to find some leaves, which she quickly plucks out. She tries to think back to the day before but nothing clear comes to mind. All she sees are paths of fallen leaves and the red glare from what she assumes is the setting sun. The clearing of a throat interrupts her thoughts. The waitress has returned with a glass of cool water. Leah grabs the glass quickly, not having realized how thristy she was until now. She presses the glass to her dry mouth then drinks and drinks until the glass is empty. She clears her throat, reads the name on the waitress' tag.

"Thank you Melissa."

"You're welcome. Um, I'm not one to pry but-

"Good. I'm ready to order now." Leah interrupts, forcing herself to calm down and act normally, to ignore the blankness in her head. Melissa shuffles her feet, tugs at her skirt again.

"I didn't mean to be rude Melissa, there's simply nothing to tell. I had a slight moment of confusion, thats all." Melissa doesn't look pleased with her comment but refrains from being pushy. She instead nods and offers a friendly smile.

"What will you be having then?"

"I'll have two bacon burgers with cheesy fries and another glass of water." Leah says, reading orders from the paper menu on the table. Melissa scribbles down the order and is ready to turn around when suddenly a male voice captures her attention.

"Melissa? She'll also take a slice of cherry pie, it's her favorite."

A male in his late twenty slides into the seat opposite her, folds his light brown hands and grins at her. Leah takes in his black shoulder length hair, the lone puffy scar running down the side of his neck, his white muscle t-shirt and the small healed over scratches on his arms. She feels a stirring of emotion within her. It isn't until she sees his eyes, a shocking blue that anger blooms within her and she snarls.

"Who the fuck are you?" She asks threatningly but in a low tone in order to keep attention off of them. The man chuckles.

"My name's Zulimar, you can call me Zul for short." he answers, extending a hand. She glares at his fingers, attempts to remember meeting him before but can't. Her eyebrows furrow in concentration and he notices, shakes his head with a wry grin.

"Don't remember me,huh? I'm a bit insulted. Come on Leah, look a little closer." He tells her, grasping her wrists in his hands and gazing into her eyes. The anger that appeared upon the sight of his blue eyes now dissiapatates into resentment and sorrow. Zulimar notices the change in her and tilts his head.  
"

Aw, I thought you'd be happy to see me?"

"What do you want from me? Why did you spend all this time haunting me?" Her voice is pained in rememberence of restless nights.

"What do you mean, what do I want? Haven't you paid attention to the dreams? I've drawn you away from home to protect you, silly."

* * *

A/N: The name Zulimar means Blue ocean. Well, thats the first chapter, I'll update soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, so here's an update, thank you to everyone who commented, read and favorited the first chapter. Just wanted to make a note to you guys to go back and** read Wicked Games We thought we'd never play, it'll help you understand a lot of things in this fic.**

Inosolan: Thanks so much for commenting and I'm glad you're excited for the fic :)

nakala: Thanks so much!

brankel1: thank you :)

Flossie: Zulimar is...well you'll see. ;)

Fainting Maid: wohoo, go mysteries!

Jacobleah: I'm excited to see that you're excited for this fic and yay for having you stumped, it means you'll enjoy the revelations more :)

Tara Maria: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

_This update is a bit short but includes a certain someone that was not present in Wicked Games and no worries, the next few will be much longer :)_

**Pt 2**

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Zulimar asks her as they walk away from the dinner, Leah's steps slow and unsure. The food had arrived in the middle of their introduction and they've been in silence ever since.

"It was good. How'd you know I like cherry pie?" She asks, the calm in her voice surprising both of them. Zulimar shrugs his shoulders, "Lucky guess."

"How long have I been away from home?"

"Uh, three weeks. "

Leah stops in her tracks, stares at him in disbelief. He stops in front of her, crosses his arms across his broad chest.

"Leah-

"Three weeks?,"she exclaims loudly, shaking her head, the calm she had previously completely gone. "How is that even possible. I had no idea...I figured maybe a day or two had passed but three whole fucking weeks! That's unbelievable. I can't-

"You don't remember the past three weeks?" Zulimar's eyes widen significantly.

"N-no." "Nothing at all?"

"The last thing I remember is leaving Jacob." Leah tells him, her shoulders slumping at the memory of pressing her lips to the face of a sleeping Jacob and asking him for forgiveness as she grabbed her bags and snuck off into the woods. She imagines what his reaction must have been the following morning, the desperation, hurt and anger mixing into one expression that makes her chin quiver. A drawn out sigh from Zulimar pulls her out of her thoughts and she stares up at him.

"If you've begun to have lapses in memory than its worse than I thought. It's good that you left when you did Leah." Leah closes her eyes, hands reaching up to tug at her hair. "Come on."

"No." she spits out. "We have to go." "Why am I here, with you? Why?"

Zulimar uncrosses his arms, takes a step closer to her. "I'll explain later but right now I need you to come with me."

"No!"

"Leah-

"No!, 'she exclaims again, moving forwards and pushing him with open palms. He goes a few steps backwards and she continues pushing him, 'for months you have haunted me. For months I've been absolutely terrified of what you mean. You do not get to worm your way into my life, make me leave him and expect me to just follow you around everywhere without a proper fucking explinaition!" Zulimar nods at her words, not at all surprised or insulted by her outburst.

"I understand you're upset-

"Upset?" At her angry shriek, Zulimar's calm begins to disappear. His stance, once showing vulnirability and the need for trust hardens, his hands curling into fists at his sides. His nostrils flare out, his jaw ticks.

"I am trying to be as kind as possible here Leah Clearwater but you are pushing my buttons. There is much I have to explain but this is not the right place or time. Everything will be easier to do once we go deep into the woods."

"Deep into the woods? So no one can here me screaming?" "Leah-"

"What?" She yells out and slaps his chest once more.

They stand in the middle of an empty road, a small distance away from the beginnings of the woods, facing one another with murderous glares and shaking fists. Zulimar's already bright blue eyes seem to brighten even more as his chest begins heaving, each pant he releases, sounding animalistic. Leah's dark eyes begin dulling into an unnatural yellowish hue. Her shoulders hunch, her back trembles. She realizes that they are both turning into wolves and with a loud growl, starts running towards the woods where they can settle this away from any possible bystanders. Zulimar turns, runs after her with a pleased grin. She is going right where he wanted her to.

* * *

Seth pushes the front door open, toes off his sneakers and leaves them next to the couch, walking towards the kitchen with a hand resting on his stomach. It grumbles loudly and he chuckles at himself, amused at how quickly he became hungry.

"Hello sweetie, hungry already?" The voice of his mother stops him in his tracks. He looks at her with wide eyes, his hand slipping off of his stomach.

"Mom?"

"Hi." Seth takes one step closer to her and Sue's smile begins to slip at the look of disbelief he sports. How could she have let herself be so absent?How could she have forgotten that no matter how old they were, her children would need her? she wonders. Taking a deep breath, she musters up the words that have been lingering in her mind ever since Charlie told her that her daughter was missing.

"Seth sweetie, I am so sorry."

Seth's expression of disbelief turns into one of confusion." What are you sorry for, ma'?"

"I- I haven't been around at all. I left you and Leah all on your own and now she's gone. My daughter is gone, obviously in some sort of trouble and I wasn't here to help her. I wasn't here to look after you, or help you with getting back to school. I left it all to her and I shouldn't have."

"Mom, you were with Charlie. You know Leah and I were totally cool with it."

"But-

"But nothing ma'. Yeah, we missed you but we knew you were happy. We lost our dad a few years ago but you lost your husband. You found someone who made you smile again and thats great."

"You mean that, sweetheart?"

"Yeah mom, I do." "But you know- he begins sheepishly- 'if you want to stick around for a while, that'd be great too. I really have missed you."

Sue smiles brightly and nods at her son, opening her arms. He chuckles and steps into her embrace, a feeling of contentment washing over him for the first time in the past three weeks. He isn't alone anymore.

"Now, -she starts, ruffling his arm as she steps out of his arms- 'what are you in the mood for? Steak? Fish? Hamburgers?" Seth's stomach grumbles.

"Steak, lots of steak." Sue laughs, opening the refrigarator.

"Fine, but you'll be helping me."

"Okay. Is Charlie gonna join us."

"No sweetie. I really just wanted it to be just us this time, is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, yeah, thats great mom."

* * *

Leah and Zulimar face one another in wolf form, growls echoing in the small clearing they found. Leah's grey fur bristtles in apprehension. Zulimar's paws make swift side to side motions, digging into the dirt. He stares at her, piercing her with his blue eyes just as he did in her nightmares. She briefly wonders if, like in her dreams, he is able to talk to her in wolf form but she pushes this question aside when he stops furiously digging into the dirt and takes a step towards her. A menancing growl escapes her when he releases a yip that sounds close to a laugh. He takes another step closer and she stretches her body, starts putting pressure on her hind legs. When Zulimar takes another step, this one longer than the others, she pushes herself off and lunges at him. Zulimar growls, reaches up and scratches her stomach as she is mid-air. She lands on the ground beside him with a whimper but rises up and leans foward to bite at his hind legs. He yelps as her teeth dig in, shaking from side to side in an effort to push her off. He moves a paw, puts pressure on her side and tugs downwards, ripping flesh, making her fur darken with blood. Leah releases his hind leg, sinks her claws on each side of him and throws him several inches away.

A tremor run down her spine but she ignores it and runs to him, scratching his face as she aims for his neck and he nips at her paws. She's reaching downwards, creating slashes across his middle when he head butts her so hard that she lands against the tree opposite him, about a yard away. Zulimar releases his laugh like yips. Leah pushes herself against the tree, going a few inches in the air. Her grey fur turns a redish brown, her form shakes and a howl, louder than any she has ever made escapes her as she lands. A sharp pain in her head stops her from moving forward. She whimpers and whimpers, collaspes in the ground and rolls around in pain. Her fur goes back and forth between grey and redish brown, a howl echoing in the clearing every time its color changes. Leah continues rolling until she shifts back into her human form, presses her hand to her head and passes out. Zulimar phases back into his human form as well, gathering the remains of their clothing and covering her with them.

"I've got my work cut out for me."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey you guys, this is chapter three woohoo! Thanks so much for reading the story and I hope you enjoy this update.

Guest: Yup, the plot is definitely thickening!

THEPrincessx: Updates here!

nakala: I'm glad you noticed the fur. That will be touched upon later. ;)

OoOMerry-had-a-little-lambOoO: I'm glad you're reading and lol yeah its confusing now.

Firefly-class: I'm glad you're excited to see what's happening!

Guest: It's awesome that you think the fic is intense. Seth and Sue are totally affected, its just that after being absent for a long time, Sue just wanted to give her son a dinner, you know.

brankel1: Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who commented/favorited/followed.

* * *

**Two days later**

Zulimar lightly slaps Leah's cheek, his eyebrows furrowed as he awaits some sort of reaction. This is the fourth time she's passed out in the past two days. Every time she wakes, she yells obscenities at him and lunges, making him follow his insticts, defend himself and knock her out. He taps her cheek a few more times. He rests his hand at his side when her eyelids begin fluttering. She shifts slightly to her side but makes no other movement. Zulimar scowls and shifts her body then leans down until his mouth is close to her ear. He takes a deep breath.

"LEAH!" he yells and with a yelp she awakens. "Wh-what- 'she begins to yell back, her expression slipping to that of confusion.

"Who..."

"You forgot?" Zulimar asks. "Damn," he whispers when she doesn't answer him.

He sighs but decides to act cheerful. "Well then hiya, I'm Zulimar." he offers his hand.

She ignores the gesture, looking up. She takes in her surrondings, the remote scene of the woods and the stranger before her. An unfortunate conclusion forms in her head, causing her to begin to snarl and for Zulimar to grimace as he catches on. He raises his palms in a sign of surrender.

"Hey, hey, look, it isn't like-

"You little-  
she lunges at him and he ducks.

"Shit, shit, shit," he murmurs under his breath. Leah lunges again and he ducks once more but this time, instead of landing gracefully on the ground she goes too far and collides with a tree. The collision makes an echo in the woods and Leah passes out yet again. Zulimar walks over to her form, sighs and tugs at his hair. "Shit."

* * *

Jacob lies down on a pile of fallen leaves, the crackling sound they make as he moves is a small comfort. It's been two days since he's seen an illusion of Leah and he yearns for the sight of her. He closes his eyes and attempts to conjure up a pleasurable memory of her, tries to hold on to their moments of laughter, of intimacy. Yet all that he can manage to think of is the morning he woke in her bed, alone.

_He knows something is wrong the moment he can feel the morning's breeze filtering through the crack in the window but can't feel Leah's warmth at his side. He instantly turns in bed and finds the place besides him empty. His eyes widen, his heart drops down to his stomach. Normally, awaking alone would not alarm him. Leah tends to take long walks in the middle of the night on certain occasions and other times she rises earlier than he does. But this is different. He feels it all over, the wrongness of the situation. He sits up, touches the sheets where Leah's body should be. The material is cold, an indication that she rose long ago._

_"Leah?" he calls out, his voice cracking in panic. He does not recieve any sort of reply. His chest rises and falls rapidly as he pants and gets up from bed with shaky legs. He leaves her bedroom, walks down the hallway, his chest constricting when he hears absolutely nothing._

_"Leah?!" He calls out again, desperately. Like he suspected, no one answers him. He runs back to her room and begins tugging at her drawers, pulling the door to her closet. Empty, everything is empty. _

_"No! no, no, no."_

_His hands curl into fists at his side and before he realizes what he's doing, he's running outside. He runs and runs, too preocupied to notice that there are pebbles digging into his bare feet and that his body is only covered by a pair of boxers. He makes it to Embry's house in a few minutes and pushes the front door open. _

_"Seth!" he calls for the boy, chest heaving. _

_"Jake! What's up ma-' Embry starts to greet him as he leaves the kitchen but stops at the sight of him, 'Whoa."_

_Jacob ignores Embry's reaction. "Where's Seth?"_

_"Uh," Embry is unable to answer him, still surprised at his friends appearance, at his bloody and muddy feet and the wild look in his dark eyes. _

_"Seth?!" The young boy does not answer him and instead, Quill comes out of the kitchen, his smile slowly slipping when he too takes in Jacob's state._

_"Jake? What's going on man?"_

_ "Seth!" He merely yells out again. _

_"What? Can't a teenage boy use the bathroom in peace?" he grumbles, zipping up his pants as he leaves the bathroom. Jacob releases a growl when he sees the boy and quickly rushes to him, gripping his shirt, lifting him a few inches off the ground and pressing his back against the wall. Seth gasps, his eyes widening._

_"What the hell Jake?!"_

_"Where's Leah? Did she talk to you? Where did she go, huh, where?!" _

_"Isn't she at the house?" Seth replies in a small voice. Out of all the shifters, Jacob has always been extra kind to him. He doesn't think he's ever seen Jacob's eyes gleam this way. _

_"No." Jacob growls out._

_"I-I" Seth stutters, unsure of how to answer and Jacob's glare deepens._

_"Where is my girlfriend?" He asks, his voice lowering to that of a panicky whisper._

_"Whoa, you're dating Leah?" Quill and Embry ask but their shock goes ignored._

_"I haven't seen her Jake."_  
_Jacob puts Seth down, backs away from the boy as his hands shake. The younger wolf swallows and takes a step closer to Jacob._

_"Jake, what happened to my sister?" his voice is soft, almost calm but Jacob can hear the pain, the worry behind it. "_

_I...don't know. I woke up and she-she wasn't there. Her stuff...all of it is gone." _

_"Shit." Quill and Embry exclaim as Seth's lips tremble and Jacob clutches his stomach, feeling ill._

Jacob snaps himself out of the memory of that horrid morning and stands. He ignores the clenching in his stomach, the persistant sensation of being on the verge of illness that makes him want to throw up and relieve some of the pressure, and starts walking. Leaves crackle under his feet, birds chirp as they fly from tree to tree. If Leah were here, he thinks to himself, she'd sigh at the birds chirping while pretending to not enjoy the sound. She'd junp on his back, playfully bite his neck and ask him just where the hell he was leading her. She'd complain about him being secretive and the ridiculousness of surprises but she would still follow him. She would still trust him.

* * *

Laid out on the Clearwater's dinning table is a map of the United States. Mother and Son stare at the map, their fingers tracing the drawn lines. Their eyebrows are furrowed in deep concentration. Seth grabs one of the red markers by his side of the table and uncaps it, ready to cross off California. Sue stops him with a hand on his wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"Crossing off California."

"Why?"

"It's sunny, Leah isn't really into sunny places."

"No, but she does enjoy the beach quite a bit sweetie."

Seth taps the table, shakes his head. "You're right, I totally forgot about that."

Sue drums her fingers across her lips, "Lets review what we've alredy crossed out."

After their dinner two days ago, Leah's family began immediately thinking about where Leah would have chosen to run. What place could make Leah feel safe and comfortable while at the same time being far enough for none of the shifters to be able to scent her or hear her thoughts? And so now they sit, crossing off states and attempting to compile a list of the places she'd be most likely to go, places where her friends and family can go and successfully find her.

"Alright, so far, we've crossed Virginia, Maryland, North and South Dakota, Illinios, and Pennsylvania."

"Okay, good, lets keep going." Seth nods in agreement.

Sue hums, Seth drums his fingers atop the table. Their eyes narrow, gaze focused on the map.

"Aha!" They exclaim at the same time as Sue crosses off Alaska and Seth crosses off Louisiana. "Seth, don't you think we should ask for Jacob's help in making in the list?"

"No...I don't think we should ask anything of him until its time to search for her. He's...pretty out of it mom."

* * *

Jacob stops his walk when he reaches a remote area of the woods, unknown to both the Cullens and his fellow shifters. The section in the woods is about two acres, filled with overgrown grass, bird nests and trees. Flowers aren't present but he knows that the soil is good enough to produce some if someone ever decided to start planting. Twigs, thick branches and the occasional tree stump litter the grass. Jacob touches the tree stumps lightly, traces the lines that expose just how old they were before they were cut down. He sits in front of the largest stump and rests his back against it. A cool breeze passes by making the grass graze his legs.

He had discovered the area a few years ago when he'd run away from home and the pack after receiving the invitation to Bella and Edward's wedding. It'd been his first place of rest and no matter how far north he travelled in those months he always came back this area. Back then when Bella had broken his heart, the serenity of this clearing managed to take his mind off of the situation. He'd been able to touch and actually feel, he'd been able to appreciate more than the beauty of a teenage girl. Yet this time the clearing can not make him forget, not even for a moment. He looks up at the sky, and patiently waits for the moon as he hopes for a clue in the form of an illusion of Leah.

* * *

** The Next Morning**

This time when Leah wakes, Zulimar's back is facing her and her eyes, normally a dark shade are now a bright blue. She snarls, a usual response, yet this time there is an anger, a touch of darkness in her snarl that there has never been before.

"Zulimar," she startles him. He drops the twigs he was gathering and turns around.

"Leah! you're awake!"

She sneers, "That I am."

He rushes to her, pressing a hand on her shoulder as she sits up and rests her back against a tree. He raises his gaze to meet hers and is surprised to see the color of her eyes.

"Leah?"

She chuckles darkly, "Sort of."

His eyes widen. "You-

"You're the wolf that haunted us, right?"

"Yes."

"How did you manage that?"

"A form of dream walking. It took me years to perfect it."

"Hm. What do you about me Zulimar?"

"I know that you can not be in control. I know that she needs to trust me."

She sighs, displeased with his answer. "What do you know about me?" she asks once more.

"Not enough."

"Good answer."

Zulimar nods, acknowledging her approval. "I will make her stop forgetting and perhaps push aside some hostility. Gaining her trust is up to you."

"I understand, thank you."

"Do not thank me."

Leah's eyes darken to their normal hue, her expression softens.  
"Zulimar."

* * *

A/N: The us/me/her were not typos. They were included in the dialogue purposely. ;)


End file.
